Is ISIS Our Problem?

Letter to the Editor

Recently, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said of ISIS: "They want to kill humanity and, from the viewpoint of the Islamic tenets and culture, killing an innocent person equals the killing of (all) humanity." I can only guess that the Iranian people are more terrified of the ISIS threat because it is right next door, and despite any poetic justice I may feel, I would say that it is time for both our nations to move toward common ground.

The United States cannot continue to expend lives and money in a half-hearted effort to appear as if we had an effective policy in that region. Our involvement has always been in four-year presidential election cycles, and after 20-plus years since the first Gulf War there is still no exit strategy for us.

It may well be time for the U.S. to accept that those responsible for that region are those who must live in that region. We should no longer do it for them.